“These are examples of gorgeous couture dress… Oscar 2015. Not that red crazy-ruffled-squid-like frock from last night local award (more like a circus) show… Watching 2 mins of that show hurt my intelligence…”

Bagaimanapun Neelofa tidak berdiam sahaja.

“Coming from a non fashion related person like your goodself, I’ll take this as a pinch of salt. Booooo.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib said it was his right to defend himself as well as his family against the 'defamatory and completely untrue' report that was not substantiated with evidence. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib has expanded on his decision to take legal action against PAS’s Harakah Daily over a report linking his stepson to 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), saying he would never allow public funds to be misused.

Najib wrote on Facebook last night to say that while he accepts criticism as prime minister, he will not stand idly by when unfounded allegations are aimed at his family.

“I am aware of various allegations linking me and my family to 1MDB.

“I would like to emphasise here that 1MDB is a strategic investment firm owned by the government of Malaysia, and I would never allow anyone to use or divert public funds for their personal gain,” Najib wrote.

Earlier yesterday, he defended his decision to take legal action against Harakah Daily by saying that he did so because the PAS mouthpiece defamed his family.

The prime minister also said it was his right to defend himself as well as his family against the “defamatory and completely untrue” report that was not substantiated with evidence.

On Thursday, Najib’s lawyers delivered a letter of demand to Dr Rosli Yaakub, the managing director of Harakah.

The legal action was filed by Najib in his personal capacity over an article titled “Dana 1MDB biayai syarikat filem Riza Aziz? (1MDB funds used to finance Riza Aziz’s film company?)” that he deemed to be defamatory.

The Harakah article had questioned how Najib’s stepson Riza sourced funds to finance his company’s (Red Granite Productions) 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and had alluded to a connection between 1MDB funds and said film.

Najib is chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisors.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/najib-says-wouldnt-let-1mdb-be-used-for-personal-gain#sthash.DYRVfH64.dpuf

7.2 million people approved for BR1M

PETALING JAYA: Almost a quarter of Malaysia’s 30 million population have been approved to receive the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M).

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong said that out of 8.4 million applicants, 7.2 million had been approved to receive the aid this year.

“This is in line with the World Bank’s initiative that aid should be given in the form of direct and targeted subsidy,“ he said in an interview here yesterday.

Direct subsidy such as BR1M, he added, avoided “leakages” by which recipients might not enjoy the full benefit of government aid.

A total of RM5.2bil will be distributed to applicants, with people in Selangor receiving the most at RM726mil.

States with the least number of successful applicants are Negri Sem­­bilan and Perlis with 293,313 and 77,993 respectively.

Chua pointed out that BR1M was a channel which ensured that funds were properly used to help low income households.

“Moreover, it will stimulate both the rural economy and small and medium enterprises as these households will consume products (sold) in the local community,“ he said.

For those 1.2 million whose applications were rejected, Chua pointed out that 94% of the 500,000 who failed and appealed in 2014 were subsequently approved for BR1M.

Chua gave the assurance that those informed by the Inland Revenue Board that they were ineligible could appeal.

A sum of RM950 will be given to successful applicants whose household income is less than RM3,000, RM750 to those between RM3,000 and RM4,000 whereas single individuals earning RM2000 and less will receive RM350.

Azmin: No water rationing during current hot spell

TANJONG KARANG: The people of Selangor have been assured that no water rationing will be implemented during the current hot and dry weather.

Mentri Besar Azmin Ali said the State Economic Action Council next Thursday, however, would discuss alternative measures that needed to be taken to avoid water rationing.

"I want all preparations to be done earlier to face the possibility of water shortage in dams which will affect the supply of raw water to treatment plants, as well as the supply of clean water to consumers in the state.

"I don't want water rationing to be implemented like last year. So, I will look into all factors, including tighter enforcement at rivers to prevent pollution that will only cause water treatment plants to be closed," he told reporters here.

Apart from that, he said the state government was also in the midst of completing the Hybrid Off River Augmentation System project in Kuala Selangor as an alternative to face raw water shortage.

The project is expected to be fully completed by September this year, he added.

On the use of water from mining ponds as an alternative to supply water to consumers, he said all quarters need not to worry as the water was not contaminated. - Bernama

Leonard Nimoy, Spock on 'Star Trek,' dead at 83

Veteran actor Leonard Nimoy, who delighted sci-fi fans worldwide with his iconic turn as the pointy-eared half-human, half-Vulcan Mr Spock in the "Star Trek" television series and films, died Friday aged 83.. AFP

LOS ANGELES - Veteran actor Leonard Nimoy, who delighted sci-fi fans worldwide with his iconic turn as the pointy-eared half-human, half-Vulcan Mr Spock in the "Star Trek" television series and films, died Friday aged 83.

Nimoy, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, died at his home in Los Angeles, his family and agent said. A private memorial service was being planned.

Tributes poured in from castmates, actors, fans, the wider science community -- and President Barack Obama.

"I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love," said William Shatner, who played the hot-headed Captain James T. Kirk on the ground-breaking "Star Trek," which debuted in the 1960s.

George Takei, who portrayed Mr Sulu on the sci-fi show, tweeted: "Rest in peace with the stars, my dear friend."

"So many of us at NASA were inspired by Star Trek. Boldly go..." the US space agency said on Twitter, highlighting one of the series' main catchphrases -- "To boldly go where no man has gone before."

Obama said simply: "I loved Spock."

- Career-defining role -

Born in Boston on March 26, 1931 to Jewish immigrant parents from what is now Ukraine, Nimoy left for Hollywood at the age of 18, winning a sprinkling of small parts in 1950s television series.

With his square jaw and serious features, Nimoy worked his way into showbiz playing cowboy characters and lawmen before he found a niche that would last a lifetime in the world of science fiction.

In 1966 he was cast in his greatest role -- as the ever-logical Spock, the science officer aboard the spaceship USS Enterprise, which ventured around the galaxy, exploring new worlds in death-defying odysseys.

Spock was the cool counterpoint to Kirk, played by Shatner, and the even-tempered sparring partner of ship doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley.

The trinity had ratings-boosting chemistry that sustained "Star Trek" during its initial four-year run.

Spock would be resurrected for several feature films after "Star Trek" snowballed into a cultural phenomenon in the 70s and 80s, making his Vulcan salute and salutation "live long and prosper" a touchstone of the science-fiction world.

Nimoy later revealed he based the hand gesture on a Jewish blessing.

In addition to acting, Nimoy was an accomplished director.

He directed two of the Star Trek films including one of the most well received, "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Nimoy also directed 1987 hit comedy "3 Men and a Baby" starring Tom Selleck.

- Role model for geeks -

Nimoy, along with some of his co-stars, struggled with the type-casting stardom he was thrown into by legions of earnest "Star Trek" fans.

In 1975 he authored the book "I am Not Spock," attempting to open up space between himself and the character that had so captured people's imaginations.

While "Star Trek" fever built, Nimoy starred in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in 1978, and then alongside Ingrid Bergman in 1982's "A Woman Called Golda."

Nimoy would eventually embrace his role as an authority figure in the sci-fi world. He wrote a rebuttal to his earlier memoir -- "I am Spock" in 1995.

As Spock, Nimoy became a role model for nerds and geeks: he was calm under pressure with a logical response always at the ready.

He related an "embarrassing" anecdote to The New York Times in 2009 when he toured a California university with scientists who looked to Spock for approval.

"Then they’d say to me, 'What do you think?' Expecting me to have some very sound advice. And I would nod very quietly and very sagely I would say, 'You’re on the right track'."

Nimoy had two children with his first wife, and was married to his second wife Susan since 1989.

- Active later years -

Nimoy built off his sci-fi and Spock fame for the rest of his career, lending his voice to documentaries, video games and television shows.

He sold "Live Long and Prosper" apparel, and waved the Vulcan salute at "Star Trek" conventions.

He returned to "Star Trek" as an older version of his Spock character in the franchise's reboot directed by J.J. Abrams in 2009 and in a 2013 sequel.

Nimoy remained active in his later years, releasing photography books and poetry.

He also took a role on sci-fi TV series "Fringe," which ran from 2008 to 2013 and was also directed by Abrams.

In his last tweet, posted Monday under his handle @TheRealNimoy, Nimoy said: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."

In the heart of Hollywood on Friday, fans paid tribute to Nimoy at his star on the Walk of Fame.

"Before Obi-Wan, before Yoda, before Star Wars -- there was Spock," said Gregg Donovan, an English-born actor dressed in a top hat, a red tailcoat and white gloves, who said he once bagged Nimoy's groceries at a Los Angeles supermarket.

"I always remember his kindness. I told him I was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and he said, 'Keep going, don't give up'." - AFP